INFLUENCE OF WRAPPERS ON KEEPINO (^irALITY. 17 



enth" what ocouirccl in the triple- wrapped ciirtoiis and in the o-lass 

 bottles. However, in the practical aj^plication of a close packa^-e to 

 fruit storage, sn)othering would not be likely to occur, as a package 

 tit^hter than the double-wrapped box would rarely, if ever, be used. 

 Fruit appears to be damaged little, if any, in keeping (juality or in 

 flavor by the presence of a small amount of carbon dioxid in the air of 

 the storage room, and only in the presence of a large amount of this 

 gas does real injury occur. Commercial packages which are generally 

 used in storing fruit are not sufKciently tight to retain a considerable 

 amount of carbon dioxid. There might })e some injury in a moderately 

 close package if the fruit was not stored (\uickly after it was pickinl 

 and packed. The life processes of the fruit are nuich accelerated at 

 this time, particularly in warm weather, and under these conditions 

 enough carbon dioxid might be given ofl' and retained by the package 

 to injure the quality of the fruit before it was stored. In cold storage, 

 however, the life processes are retarded quickly by the low tempera- 

 ture, respiration progresses much more SI0WI3', less carbon dioxid is 

 given off, and therefore there is less danger of injury from this source. 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE WRAPPER ON THE KEEPING QUALITY 



OF SMALL FRUITS. 



At the present time no tight berry package is manufactured. A few 

 northern growers are using paper w^ rappers on berry boxes, which is a 

 step in the direction of a close package. In the tests of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry impervious japanin paper was used upon a considerable 

 quantity of fruit stored, each box being wrapped separateh', Berrj' 

 boxes wrapped in japanin paper are shown in Plate II, figures 2 and 'A. 

 The wrapper aided materially in retaining the bright color and attract- 

 ive appearance of the fruit and prevented the absorption of storage- 

 house odors to a marked degree. It also retarded to some extent the 

 appearance of mold. In preventing the tainting from storage-house 

 odors alone, the moderately tight package or the use of the wrapper 

 has proved of great value. 



During the season of 1905 a test of wrapping crates of strawberries 

 of the Gandy and Tennessee varieties in heavy manila paper was 

 made, the entire crate being covered with paper instead of wrapping 

 the individual baskets. While this treatment did not result in mate- 

 riail}^ diminishing the amount of mold which developed on the fruit, it 

 did prove efficient in preventing the tainting of the fruit from storage- 

 house odors. Berries in adjoining unwrapped packages became so 

 contaminated with odors from other products in the storage room that 

 the fruit was quite unpalatable in a few days, while the berries in the 

 wrapped crates remained entirely free from such contamination. 



108 



